6 Office Cleaning Hacks

Your office is pretty much your second home, where you spend most of your time to work at the desk, forage for snacks in the pantry, share trending news by the water cooler, and spend hours bickering on where to eat next with workmates. Having so many colleagues huddled in a communal area is no joke, especially when everyone has a different benchmark to what constitutes as clean; such as “Keep that plastic cover on that, it’s still new!” to “That’s not hair on the table, that’s decor!” (Side note: No, these are not acceptable benchmarks.)

To ensure productivity levels and diplomatic work relationships are sustained in your company, we give you six easy organizing hacks that you and your colleagues can implement to keep things clean at the office.

1. Mark your territory

Establish your boundaries

A big part of ensuring everything is kept in order is to assign the tidy from the dirty spaces to the respective individual. This ensures each and every one of your teammate becomes responsible with cleaning up their own space, and can be a relief to those who struggle with a messy neighbour encroaching their space. Use a masking tape to draw clear lines or washi tape for a more whimsical touch to territories.

2. Label all your stuff

Mark from accounting always leaving his items everywhere? This is especially important for things that are left in the fridge for too long. Just make sure that everyone knows where Jason’s 3-month old acar is.

3. Set up a junk drawer

An easy way to clean the office is to contain the mess in a sanctioned area. You can put anything in here! This is a private space where you can go crazy! Keep your old stationary, leftover ribbons, tissues, skeletons, ETC. Just make sure it’s not food, or something that would smell after a week.

4. Use microfibre cloths

Microfibre cloths can save your office life. They are soft, super absorbent, lint-free, and picks up all dirt in a clean swipe. Leave a few around for the office so everyone can easily clean or mop up their mess without procrastinating.

5. DISINFECT YOUR MICROWAVE

The microwave is a very convenient accessory that can heat up almost anything, be it the fried rice from last night or the frozen brownie from last month’s office party. That being said, it can be a breeding ground for some funky smells or mould. Curb this from happening by microwaving a bowl of water mixed with a tablespoon of baking soda for half a minute. Maybe two, if things still appear grimy after one wipe. Don’t forget to disinfect the handle!

6. Clean your computer / laptops

Many offices assign each employee her own computer and keyboard. Unfortunately, the computer might be the dirtiest piece of equipment you come in contact with on a daily basis. The keyboard is a breeding ground for bacteria, as it comes in contact with unwashed hands, germs, or dirt from food all day long.